Phonographic molding apparatus.



W. F. NEHR.

PHONOGRAPHIC MOLDING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 24. 1914.

UU. Patented Dec. 7,1915.

lllllllllllllh 9 58 5 WITNESSES V 42M A TTORNEYS COLUMBIA PLANODRAPH co wAsmNs'roN. D: C.

entrain s ratus PATENT FFKOE.

WILLIAM F. NEHR, OF YVEST ORANGE,

NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOB, TO NEW JERSEY PATENT COMPANY, OF WE$T ORANGE, NEW? JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

PHONOGRAPHIC MOLDING APPARATUS.

Application filed February 24, 1914.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, lVILLiAM F. N EHn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of lVest Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Phonographic Molding Apparatus, of which the following is a description.

My invention relates to phonographic molding apparatus and more particularly to apparatus for shapingthe ends of hollow cylinders which are used in the manufacture of records of celluloid or the like.

Theprincipal object of my invention is to provide apparatus designed to shape both ends of the celluloid cylinder simultaneously thus making it possible to complete the formation of the record in a much shorter period and at a reduced cost.

A further object of my invention is to provide apparatus of the class referredto which will engage the cylinder only at the ends thereof; whereby the danger of scratching, cracking or otherwise damaging the cylinder is greatly reduced. In the preferred form of my invention, ll provide a set of die members formed to engage one end of the cylinder and curl over the edge thereof and a device having'an annular converging recess of contracted diameter at its inner end for engaging the other end of the cylinder and curling the edge thereof in ward to the desired extent.

Other objects of my invention will appear more fully in the following specification and appended claims.

In order that my invention may be more clearly understood, attention is hereby directed to the accompanying drawings forming. a part of this specification, and in whichl igure 1 is a vertical section of one form of'apparatus embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the main parts of the same, showing the apparatus in operative engagement with the ends of the celluloid cylinder. Fig. 3 is a sectional View on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, the celluloid cylinder being omitted; and Fig. 4 is a sec tional view of the lower edge of the celluloid cylinder after the required shape has been given thereto.

In all of the views. like parts are designated by the same reference characters.

- Referring to the drawings, the celluloid Specification of Letters Patent.

- boss 11, or

Patented Dec. 7, 1215. Serial No. 820,580.

cylinder which isto have its ends shaped is indicated at 1,'and the apparatus for engaging and forming this cylinder is indicated as a whole by the numeral 2. The apparatus comprises a die plate 3, the upper face of which is dished out, providing. a shallow recess; and'in central position on the bottom of this recess rests a die member 4. The recess in the top of the plate 3 is circular in horizontal section and curved downwardly and inwardly toward its bottom, which is preferably a plane surface: and the die member l is cylindrical and of less diameter than the recess, the bottom of member at being joined to the cylindrical lateral surface of said member by a rounded surface 4- arranged directly above the curved portion of the recess in the top of plate 3. As a result, there is formed an annular space 3' between the surface 4 and the curved surface of this recess, this space being of such a shape that the sides thereof converge inwardly toward the bottom of the same. Consequently when the cylinder 1 is placed with its lower end in this annular space, and is pressed downward, the bottom edge thereof is forced inward and thus curled over. The die member 5 has on its upperend a raised rim 5, the corners of which are rounded off. Normally the die member 5 is supported at such a height that it projects slightly above the cylinder 1 (see Fig. 1) but it is adapted to be pressed downward by means of a hollow head 6 carrie d at the top of the apparatus 2. \Vhen the hollow head 6 descends, the upper end of the cylinder l is curled inwardly and over around the raised rim 5 on the die member 5, as shown fully in Fig. 2, the head 6 having portions shaped to cooperatewith the upper face of the die member 5 for this purpose, as will be hereafter more fully described. j

The frame oftheapparatus 2 is supportednpon a base 7; and on the upper sides of this base a base plate 8 is secured by any suitable fastening means, such as bolts 9. This base plate has a shallow circular recess 10 formed in its upper face and on the lower face of the die plate 3 is a boss 11 which fits snugly into this recess. The body of the plate 3 is of greater diameter than the the recess 10, and forms a shoulder surrounding the boss which rests upon the upper face of the plate 8. Tue plate 8 has a'central threaded opening 12; and the die plate 3 also has a central opening in line with the threaded opening 12, to permit a threaded bossor nipple 13, formed on the lower end of the die member 1 to be screwed through the base plate 8. The opening through the plate 3 is preferably not threaded. A lock nut 14, screwed upon the lower end of the threaded nipple 13 and bearing against the lower surface of base plate 8 secures the die plate 3'and the die member 4 to the base plate, At the base of the nipple 13, die member 1 is provided with an annular shoulder 15in the form of a plane surface which rests upon the bottom 16 in the recess of the plate 3.

"As stated above, the die member 1 is rounded off adjacentthe outer portion of the shoulder 15, as indicated at 1 and forms with the wall of the recess in the upper face of the die member 3 the annular space 3. The curvature of the outer portion of the recess in the plate 3 is such thatthe wall of said recess merges smoothly into the surface of the bottom 16. As a result the annular space convergesdownwardly and inwardly in a smooth curve. of the cylinder 1 is adapted to fit into the space 3; and it will be apparent that when the lower end of the cylinder 1 is forced downwardly, it will be contracted and forced inwardly to form a curved flange, indicated at 18 in Figfli.

The die member 5 is mounted above the die member 4:, and resiliently supported thereon, in a manner to be hereinafter described, so as to be normally held up to a certain height. This die member 5 is movable up and down with respect to the die member 4: and to provide means for guiding the member 5 in such movement, the member dis provided with a vertical central bore 19 through which passes a guide stem 20.

This guide stem 20 is secured in a bore formed in a member 21 secured to the under side of the upper die member, and it slides through thebore 19 freely within certain limits. The die member 5 is in the shape of a disk havingon its upper face a round circumferential rim 5 referred to above, this member being secured to the top of the member 21 by means of fastening devices, such as screws 24. In order to center this disk on the member 21, I may form a central boss 25 on the upper face of the member 21 and surround the same by an annular shoulder 25. The lower face of the disk 5 is formed with a depending flange or rim 26 which fits around the boss 25Vand rests upon shoulder 25. The stem 20 will, therefore, act as a guide for, both the member 21 and the die 5 when they are moved relatively to the lower die member 1. I

' preferably drive a pin 27 into the member 21 from one side thereof and I form alined Thelower end bores in this member and the top of the stem 20 to receive the pin 27. I also form a bore in the member 21 to receive a pin 28 and I preferably locate this bore and the pin 28 in the path of the pin 27 and form a hole through the top of the pin 23 to receive the pin 27. The one pin 27, therefore, serves to hold the member 21 the stem 20, and pin 28 together. The pin 28 fits slidably into a bore in the lower die member, and thus holds the die members 1 and 5 against relative rotation while permitting relative up and down movement of member 5. The lower die member is provided with a plurality of bores or recesses 30, three of the same being shown in Fig. 3; and the member 21 will have bores 30 in its lower face in registry with the bores 30 in the die member a. Each of the bores 30 in the lower die member 4 and its alined bore in the upper die member 5 contains a coiled spring 31, these springs serving to support the member 21 and the die member 5 and to space the same from the die member 4 while at the same time allowing the member 21 and the die member 5 to be depressed. The upward movement of the die member 5 is limited by anut 33 screwed on the lower end of stem 20. The bore 19 opens through the nipple 13 and the nut 33 is located together with the nut 1 1 and the lower ends of the nipple 13 and the stem 20 in a central opening 7 passing vertically through the base 7. To hold the lock nut 33 in place a pin 34: may be driven through it and the stem 20. The springs 31 normally hold member 5 in the position shown in Fig. 1, with the rounded rim 5 slightly above the upper end of the cylinder 1 and the lower end of the pin 28 in the upper end of the bore 29. This last named bore is long enough to allow the member 21 to be forced down upon the die member 1 when the upper die member 5 is engaged by the die head 6.

The frame of the apparatus 2 comprises a standard 35 rising from the base 2 and supporting a vertical bearing 36. The vertical axis of this hearing is in line with the vertical axis of the die members d and 5 and the bearing contains a sliding plunger 37 to the lower end of which the die head 6 is secured. F or this purpose the lower end of the plunger 37 is bored out. providing a rim 38; and the upper end of the die head 6 is provided with a boss 39 which fits into the bored out end of the plunger 37. A pin 40 is driven through a hole in the boss 39 and the plunger 37 to secure the same together. The standard 35 is preferably cast integral with bearing 36 and with a horizontal bearing -11 in which is mounted a spindle 4:2. The spindle 12 is provided with collars 43 engaging the bearing 41 at both ends of the this purpose a handle 44 by which the spindle may be turned. The function of the spindle 4-2 is to raise and lower the plunger 37, and for the plunger 87 may be provided with vertical rack 37 and the spindle e12 may be provided witha pinion 12 engaging the rack teeth.

The die head 6 is hollow to enable a heating agent to be supplied to the interior thereof and it is constituted of several sections. The upper section is in the form of an inverted cup 415 having the boss 39 projecting therefrom; this cup being closed by means of a cover 4.6. A suitable packing ring 1-7 is placed between the cup 4:5 and the cover 416. A closed space t8 is thus provided to receive the heating agent. To the lower face of the cover 46 is secured a disk 19 shaped to receive and cooperate with the raised rounded rim 5. Fastening devices, preferably in the form of screws 50, pass through the disk 1:9, cover -16, and packing ring 17 and into the section 15 to hold all of these parts together. In the lower face of the disk 49 is :1V groove 51 the outer wall of which is deeper than the inner wall, the outer wall flaring downwardly and outwardly as shown. This groove 51 is rounded at the bottom to correspond in shape with the rounded rim 5 of the die member 5, and the dish 19 is provided with a central boss 52 of less height than the outer wall of groove 51, the boss 52 fitting within the rim 5 when the die head 6 is forced down upon the die member 5. The boss 52 hasa central opening or recess 53 for a purpose which will be referred to hereinafter. The sides of the section 4-5 have threaded openings therethrough to receive threaded tube sec tions 5% connected to flexible conduits 55 by means of couplings 56. The conduits 55 permit the passage of steam through the space 48 of the die head to heat the same and thereby facilitate the formation of the upper end of the celluloid cylinder 1 when the die head 6 engages the same. In a central opening formed in the die 5, I secure a stud 57 having its outer end rounded oif, this stud being designed to enter opening 53 to act as a guide and to insure the centering of this die member 6 when the latter moves downward into engagement with the cylinder 1.

The operation of my invention will now be apparent. At the start with the die head 6 elevated, I slip a celluloid cylinder over the die members 4 and 5. At this time the die member 5 is held up by the springs 31; and the rounded rim 5 of the die member 5 projects above the upper end of the hollow cylinder 1 to a slight extent. I preferably make the die section 5 of the proper diameter to fit snugly inside of the cylinder 1. The lower edge of the cylinder 1 will engage the outer wall of the annular space 3, above the bottom of said space, as shown in Fig.

1. Steam or other suitable heat is supplied through the conduits 55 to the space 18 and the handle all is then turned to force the plunger 37 downward. The die head 6 now moves into the position shown in Fig. 2 and the rim 5 enters the groove 51. The diameter of the groove 51 across the outer edges of the same is larger than the diameter of the cylinder 1; and as the plate 49 is forced down upon the cylinder, the upper end of the latter curled over inwardly and downwardly; the inside surface of the groove 51 acting to bend the upper edge of the cylinder down over the rounded rim or rib 5', thus forming the upper end of the cylinder 1 with neat round flange shown enlarged at 58 in Fig. 2. In order to finish the flange 58 at the top, it is necessary to apply some pressure to the cylinder through the head 6. The die member 5 and-the member 21 are, therefore, forced down against the action of the springs 31 until member 21 enga the top of the die member 4, this taking place before the operation of forming the upper edge of the cylinder is finished. This downward pressure imparts some endwise or axial movement to the cylinder 1 in a downward direction; forcing the lower end of the cylinder 1 farther into the annular space 3; and as the diameter of this space. contracts toward its lower end, the result is the formation of the rounded edge 18 at the bottom of the cylinder. This edge is simply curved inward to a slight extent and not returned upon itself like the edge 58, so that the application of heat to the lower edge of the cylinder 1 to soften the celluloid and facilitate the operation is not required. When the operation is finished, thehandle 1 1 is turned to raise the die head 6 and the cylinder I removed. The cylinder 1 is somewhat resilient and as it is turned inwardly at its lower end only to a slight extent, it can be slipped over the die 5 in spite of the flange 18 at its lower end.

It will be observed that in the course of the above operation, the celluloid cylinder is engaged and worked at its ends only, and the liability of scratching or otherwise marring the body of the cylinder is greatly lessened for this reason. A single operation of the apparatus is all that is reouired to give the reauisite shape to both ends of the rec- 0rd cylinder, and these ends can, therefore, be properly formed in a very short space of time. The flexible conduits 55 permit continuous communication between the space 18 and the supply of the heating medium for all positions of the head 6; so that the said head is always kept at the right temperature. Likewise, the apparatus comprises relatively few parts and is simple in its construction.

I wish to have it understood that the de .scription and drawings disclose merely a combination of means having an annular taperingrecess for forming one end of a cylinder, means for forming the other end of a cylinder, one of said means being movable toward and away from the other means, spring means tending to force said forming means apart, and means for forcing said movable forming means toward the other forming means and forcing the cylinder toward the bottom of said recess, substantially as described.

2. Apparatus for forming a hollow cylinder with inturned ends comprising inner and outer die members for forming one of said ends, a die for forcing the other end inwardly, .and means for effecting substantially simultaneous action of said die members, substantially as described.

3. Apparatus for forming a hollow cylinder with inturned ends comprising inner and outer die members for forming one of said ends, a die for forcing the other end inwardly, means for effecting substantially simultaneous action of said die members, and means for supplying a heating agent to one of said die members, substantially as described. a

4. Apparatus for forming the ends of a Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the hollow cylinder with inturned edges, comprising a stationary die for forcing one end of the cylinders inwardly, inner and outer die members movable relatively to said first named die members for forming the other end of the cylinder, said die members being arranged to act simultaneously upon the opposite ends of the cylinder, and means for supplying a heating agent to one of the relatively movable die members, substantially as described.

5. Apparatus for forming the ends of a hollow cylinder with inturned edges, comprising stationary die members for forcing one end of the cylinder inwardly, and inner and outer die members movable relatively to said first named die members for forming the other end of the cylinder, said die members being arranged to act simultaneously upon the opposite ends of the cylinder, substantially as described.

6. Apparatus for forming the ends of a hollow cylinder with inturned edges, comprising a stationary die for forcing one end of the cylinder inwardly, inner and outer die members for forming the other end of the cylinder, and spring means tending to move said inner member toward said outer member, substantially as described.

This specification signed and witnessed this 20th day of February 1914.

WILLIAM F. NEHR.

Witnesses:

FREDERICK BACHMANN, MARY J. LAIDLAW.

Commissioner of Yatents,

Washington, D. 0. 

